City Council

Winooski City Council Meeting Tuesday September 3, 2019 6:00 PM Claire Burke Council Chambers 27 West Allen Street Winooski, VT 05404 Mayor Kristine Lott - klott@winooskivt.gov Councilor Hal Colston - hcolston@winooskivt.gov Councilor Jim Duncan - jduncan@winooskivt.gov Councilor Amy Lafayette - alafayette@winooskivt.gov Councilor Mike Myers - mmyers@winooskivt.gov Jessie Baker, City Manager - jbaker@winooskivt.gov I. Call to Order II. Pledge of Allegiance III. Agenda Review IV. Public Comment V. Consent Agenda a. Approval: City Council Minutes of August 19, 2019 b. Approval: Payroll Warrant period 8/11/19-8/24/19, and Warrant ending 8/29/19 c. Approval: Main Street Revitalization Project-USDA Loan Obligation VI. City Update VII. Council Reports VIII. Regular Items a. Approval: FY20 Municipal Resolution for Municipal Planning Grant-H Carrington b. Discussion: VTRANS Exit 16 Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) Presentation-J Rauscher c. Discussion: Scholarship Policy-R Coffey d. Approval: Pine Grove Terrace Stormwater Improvement Project Clean Water Block Grant- Amendment #1 –J Rauscher e. Discussion: Equity and Inclusion Recommendations-K Lott IX. Adjourn MINUTES The Mayor called the meeting to order at 6:00 pm and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Councilor Lafayette. Members Present: Mayor Kristine Lott Councilors: James Duncan, Amy Lafayette, Mike Myers. Councilor Colston was absent. Officers Present: Jessie Baker, City Manager; Janet Brouard, Sr. Assistant City Clerk; Angela Aldieri, Finance Director; Heather Carrington, Economic Development Director; Jon Rauscher, Public Works Director; Eric Vorwald, Planning & Zoning Director; Ray Coffey, Community Services Director. Others Present: Michael LaCroix, VTRANS; Ronald Bissonnette, Deborah Ragione, Mark McCormick, Jean Szilva, Bridget Ahrens III. Agenda Review The Mayor said since Councilor Colston is absent tonight we would like to table the last item on the agenda pertaining to the Equity and Inclusion Recommendations. Councilor Colston was instrumental in the forming of the recommendations and the Mayor feels he should be present for the discussion. All were in favor of tabling that item until the next meeting on September 16th. IV. Public Comment – None V. Consent Agenda MOTION by Councilor Lafayette seconded by Councilor Myers to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. VI. City Update  Crack sealing maintenance DELAYED – Thursday (downtown), Friday, Monday o One truck went down – sending another truck  East Allen o Maintaining current travel pattern – what’s there now. o 2 east bound lanes, 1 west bound but divided before Hoods crossing o New crosswalk at Manseau will be permanent o Done by end of September at the developers’ expense.  Still looking for members for the DRB, Planning Commission, and Finance Commission  Main Street  o Awarded $400,000 by the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Grant Program through VTrans. The grant will support sidewalk and bicycle infrastructure for the Main Street Revitalization Project o With the two recent awards: the total Main Street project cost reduction is $1.25M in debt and interest. This equates to a total savings of approximately $550 for an average home (225.5K) over the estimated loan period.  Regular October 21st meeting is changed to October 29th Thank you!  Mid-cycle Courtland check for Hickok– ask you to retroactively approve it at your next meeting.  Events and Programs o Winooski Wednesdays – tomorrow! with Wild Leek River o Winooski River Clean Up will be happening on Saturday, September 14, from 9 AM - 1 PM. Meet at the O'Brien Center. o Pokémon Club at the Library is off to a great start... join the fun on Fridays at 3:15 PM at the Library. o Thrive Afterschool is still enrolling students for the Fall, but spaces are filling up fast. Contact our new Thrive Program Director (Kate Anderson) at thrive@winooskivt.gov or visit the City's website to register o The Vermont Patriots Soccer Program is off to a great start, and there are over 100 youth registered! Many thanks to the parents and coaches who are so instrumental in making this program a success! o Adult 3 v 3 Basketball Tournament: Wednesday, September 11 and Thursday, September 12, 2019  6 - 8 PM @ West Allen Street Park VI. Council Reports Councilor Myers – None Councilor Lafayette – None Mayor Lott – She met with the Mayor of Burlington and the Chair of the Selectboard from South Burlington to further discuss the Noise Mitigation. Councilor Duncan – He met with the team to finalize the Equity recommendation that will be presented at the September 16th meeting. VII. Regular Items a. Approval: FY20 Municipal Resolution for Municipal Planning Grant – H Carrington Ms. Carrington said staff is requesting approval to apply for a Municipal Planning Grant in the amount of $22,000.00. Over the last few months, there has been a community discussion about the need for an improved approach to historic preservation in Winooski. The grant funds would be utilized to hire a consultant to perform a historic resources inventory and to facilitate a community conversation about priorities for preservation. This project is an essential first step to developing a preservation plan for the City and was identified as one of the FY2020 Policy Priorities and Strategies. The Council had a few questions but over all were excited to see this project develop. MOTION by Councilor Myers seconded by Councilor Duncan to approve the request to apply for the FY20 Municipal Resolution for Municipal Planning Grant as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. b. Discussion: VTRANS Exit 16 Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) Presentation – J Rauscher Mike Lacroix, VTRANS Project Manager gave an overview presentation of the proposed I-89 Exit 16 improvements. He described the existing corridor issues, the scope of improvements needed, the proposed design changes and finally the construction schedule. He said the total construction is scheduled to take approximately 2 ½ years from start to finish. There were a few people in attendance with questions, particularly about the actual construction time and the noise it will bring. Mr. Lacroix said most of the work will done at night between 7 pm and 6 am. This will cause the least disruption to the heavy traffic times. He also noted that if any blasting needed to be done it will be done during daytime hours in short bursts. Another concern was brought up about the fact that the City will be starting the Main Street Revitalization project at this same time. The Mayor said the Council may need to look at our project timeline and possibly differ somethings to future years. She thanked Mr. Lacroix for his time tonight and reminded the public that he will join her on the Channel 17 program “In the World of Winooski” to discuss the project further. c. Discussion: Scholarship Policy – R Coffey Mr. Coffey is here to discuss the need for a more formal Scholarship Policy. To date the scholarship requests has been addressed on a case-by-case basis. As we see more requests come in, we have determined a need to codify a policy to assure a consistent approach and an equitable program access. The requests will be attached to the current program registration form. Mr. Coffey hopes this will reduce the stigma that can be associated with asking for scholarships, thus increasing program participation. Councilor Lafayette feels that that application form is a bit overwhelming and should be simplified. Mr. Coffey will revisit the application wording and bring back a new version. All in all the Council is pleased with the programs offered and hopes this will bring more success to the department. d. Approval: Pine Grove Terrace Stormwater Improvement Project Clean Water Block Grant – Amendment #1 – J Rauscher Mr. Rauscher is here tonight to request authorization for the City Manager to sign an amendment to the original DEC Grant. The grant amendment is due to an increase in actual project costs. The overall increase is for $24,769. In order to meet the overall project budget increase, the Council will need to authorize us to use $8,200 in Sewer Fund balance to put towards the City’s cash match. Councilor Duncan asked why the increase and will Colchester be sharing in on the increase? Mr. Rauscher said he didn’t predict that this would go over budget. Most projects normally have a contingency line item, unfortunately this project does not. He said Colchester’s share is currently 10% of the total project costs. MOTION by Councilor Duncan seconded by Councilor Lafayette to approve the Pine Grove Terrace Stormwater Improvement Project Clean Water Block Grant – Amendment #1 as presented. Voted and passed 3-0. e. Discussion: Equity and Inclusion Recommendations –K Lott Due to Councilor Colston’s absence this item was tabled until the September 16 th City Council meeting. IX. Adjourn MOTION by Councilor Lafayette seconded by Councilor Myers to adjourn the City Council meeting at 7:20 p.m. Voted and passed 3-0. ATTEST: _________________________________________ Assistant City Clerk